Scandal at the Salty Dog: An M/M Cozy Mystery: Secrets and Scrabble 4

This was another enjoyable addition to the Secrets and Scrabble series. Mysterious deaths, secret tunnels, ghost sightings, a bookseller turned reluctant sleuth, small town gossip, and old buildings with secret passages are all piled together on a coastal island famous for being the home of renowned pirates. What else could a cozy mystery possibly need? Entertaining dialogue, a dash of romance, and a cute puppy. Like all the other volumes of this series, the rhythm of the storytelling is strangely soothing for a murder mystery, and the author continues to leave enough teasers in each book to keep the reader anticipating the next book.

amateur-sleuth, bookseller, family-dynamics, friendship, island-life, law-enforcement, m-m-cozy-mystery, murder, murder-investigation, situational-humor, small-business, small-town, verbal-humor, romance, silver-sleuths***** Ellery goes to deliver some books from his shop to the irascible old lady in the dilapidated mansion and finds her on the floor of her bedroom claiming to have seen the ghost of the pirate, a harbinger of death. First mystery. The past couple of nights he has been helping the young owner of the Salty Dog tavern with a surveillance because someone has been getting into the kitchen without using any doors. Another mystery. Then Ellery goes to that house again on an errand and is assaulted by s man all in black (Police Chief Jack arrives after a time and gets very angry). It seems that Pirate's Cove is having more mysteries that the Silver Sleuths want to solve with or without Ellery (who is desperately trying to find a real candidate for a replacement employee). Lots of laughs, good sleuthing, uncertainties in romance, and another fine cozy mystery! Loved it!